A Field Full of Thorns

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Matthew 13:22

It’s useless to hear the Word if we continue in the quest of the world and our focus is to get rich and nothing else. The Word of God has hundreds of promises of blessing for those who choose to stick to it; but the word of truth will not bear fruit unless we fully abandon the quest and do not be fooled us riches. The Word will yield its fruit when we stop worshiping Mammon and worship the one Eternal God.

I met a businessman who for many years before I met him, had several Christian partners who shared the Word of God with him. Despite being exposed almost daily to hear talking about God, this man had closed his ears to listen. Several months after meeting him, I invited him and his wife to a church service. That day, they both heard the Word of God and were impacted such that opened their hearts to Jesus Christ.

From that moment, the couple began to congregate in Christian churches, including ours. Increasingly listened and were exposed to the Scriptures through different servants of God. However, the man continued busily to make wealth and spent most of his time to do that. I was involved with some business with him which only left losses. Nothing this man has been proposed has prospered and the word that was sown in him it has not borne fruit. Today, he continues in his unsuccessful quest and every day is more trapped in it.

God uses trials to shape our character and also to test our hearts. He wants to know where our loyalty is tilted. When we focus on material things, we are being unfaithful to God because our heart is in search of riches instead of wishing the living God. In such circumstances it is impossible for the Word of God that has been sown in us produce any fruit.

Verse of today meditation is part of the famous parable of the sower. The seed of the Word of God in this parable falls into four types of soils: roadside, on stony places, among thorns and good soil. And each field has its own explanation: he who hears and does not understand; who stumbles before testing; which chokes the Word by the desire to pursue wealth and who hears, understands and fruits. Throughout our lives, we may at some point have been each of these soils.

If today you hear or read this message, when analyze yourself you find you’re the land among thorns, you’re still in time to become good soil. The eagerness does not necessarily help you achieve your goals and riches are fleeting. The only eternal is what will happen when this short earthly life is over and we will go empty handed from here, try to spend eternity in heaven and not in place of torment. God bless you.